Second Sunday of Advent

Dearly beloved,

Today we mark the Second Sunday of Advent, a time of preparation for Christmas and a time of preparation for the return of Our Lord from heaven. It is also a time to recall the promises made to the chosen people, and to rejoice in their fulfillment in Christ. The Gospel for today’s Mass reminds us of the signs that were foretold by the prophets and which Jesus worked while He walked the earth, in order to convince the people of His day that He was the Messiah. As a way to get his own disciples to become disciples of Christ, St. John the Baptist sends them to Jesus to ask Him if He is the Messiah. Christ responds by listing the miracles He had worked, and in so doing He was also quoting the prophets, and thus fulfilling their prophecies.

Most of the miracles that Jesus performed were foretold by Isaiah, in a particularly notable way in the 35th chapter of his prophecy. It says, “They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God…Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing for joy.” In this we see that just as in today’s account, the works are material, but they are such things as only God can do. Even the Pharisees could not argue against such logic, for when the man born blind was healed by Jesus, they had to admit that “Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” If it had only been that one miracle, perhaps it could have been simply said that this man was from God, but with each new miracle it had to be said that not only was this man from God, he was God.

Thus the Gospel conveys to us the kind of excitement that must have surrounded Christ, for those whose hearts were open to receive Him. And yet there is one work mentioned that seems out of place, though it too was foretold by Isaiah: the poor have the good news preached to them. What is the significance of this action of Christ? Why would it be in accord with His divine mission? And what makes it extraordinary?

First of all, it proves the truth of Our Lord’s mission, in distinction to other prophets and other religions. If God were indeed to come among us, He would not need to appeal to the rich and the powerful, for He already possesses all such things and He would not need their assistance in bringing about His will. Thus it is that even today we know the veracity of the Catholic Church from its care for the poor and for Her willingness to risk the odium of the wealthy and the strong so that the Gospel may be preached in its integrity. If a so-called church or religion offers hope only to the rich and to those in power, it is not real.

Second, preaching to the poor is what a true Savior would do, since He knows that man is broken by sin, and that poverty makes us vulnerable enough to see that. Being poor has many advantages, one of them being that lack of material stability moves one to rely upon God, and from there we can see our need for reliance upon Him in the spiritual realm as well. It is also makes sense that a God-sent redeemer would also save that which needs to be saved: He is the Savior of the sick, for man is sick. He has come for the poor, because man is poor, he is lacking the spiritual perfections he needs in order to be happy, both grace and virtue, and thus he needs someone to fill him. Finally, the poor man may never receive the kinds of consolations the rich receive in this life, and so he needs to be promised eternal life—only God can promise such a thing, and that is what Jesus did promise.

So how can we foster our poverty, both materially and spiritually, and so be receptive to our Savior? In the material realm, we can choose inconvenience. It was common among the desert fathers that they would choose their dwelling far from a source of water so that each day they had to take a long walk to get what they needed for that day. This kept them strong in body and in spirit, for too much ease makes us lax in the things of God.

So also we can choose to do without things we would otherwise be able to afford, for the sake of spiritual benefit. It is not infrequently our desire that when we have enough money we will build the perfect house, or the perfect kitchen or bathroom, or that we will buy the perfect car or have our yard perfectly landscaped. It is good to avoid such thinking, and even think of how we can leave some significant inconvenience in place to teach us humility in doing hard and tedious tasks. Material things here at the priory are not ideal: there may be a beautiful sanctuary, but the fishbowl confessional and back-in-only bathroom could use an upgrade. But it is often said of well-established monasteries that the best days, the days when the most spiritual profit was gained, were when things were simpler, the work was harder, and the monks took nothing for granted, that all were satisfied with less.

In the spiritual realm, we can be content with emptiness. Just as the poor person learns to live with an empty belly, so we can accept our empty souls so that God may fill them. This may seem obscure, but it means that in those times when we feel most helpless, most weak, and most in danger of falling into sin or despair, these are the times in which Christ is calling us to approach nearer to the Cross and be filled with His grace. These are times that expose who we really are—sinners in need of a Savior, creatures fully dependent upon our Creator. And if we never experience these times, we are not living an examined life, we are too distracted.

The moments in which we feel helpless and despairing, the moments in which our faith is tested, these are times of the most profound grace. There can be no greater joy than realizing that we are indeed in need of a Savior, not just in the abstract, but right now. I am convinced that the Saints are the ones who treasure these moments and look upon them as blessings, for they are times in which St. Paul’s teaching becomes manifest, and so gives glory to God: “I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” It is being poor that we allow Our Lord to make us rich, and thus He accomplishes His work in us, and we lovingly receive a share in His power.

As Advent progresses, let us consider how Jesus came to preach His message of redemption to the poor, and then strive to become poor in some concrete way, both in spirit and in body. In so doing, we will make ourselves more open to His grace and to His dwelling within us, and thus open ourselves to true joys. May Our Lady intercede for us that we will have the courage to do so, she who risked all things to give herself completely to God. And then may she welcome us into the kingdom promised to the poor in spirit, where we shall adore the One who has shed His Blood for us, the lover of mankind, unto the ages of ages.